Amur Falcon
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The Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis), formerly Eastern Red-footed Falcon, is a small raptor of the falcon family.
Distribution / Range
It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China, wintering in Southern Africa.
Identification
Males are characteristically dark sooty brown, and may offer confusion with melanistic Gabar Goshawk, but the chestnut on the vent should prevent confusion here. Also there may be some superficial resemblance to Sooty Falcon and Grey Kestrel, but those two species both have yellow feet and cere (soft skin surrounding the nostrils). Separating male Amur and Red-footed is best done by the white underwing coverts on Amur, whereas the underwing of Red-footed Falcon is uniformly grey (please refer to Wing Anatomy).
Females may offer a bit more confusion with a wider range of falcons as they have a typical falcon head pattern. The grey on the top of the head should quickly rule out confusion with Red-footed Falcons. The female has barring on the lower belly. Red cere (soft skin surrounding the nostrils)and feet rule out all other falcons.
For juveniles, red feet should restrict ID to the Amur and Red-footed group, and the darker crown and lack of buff all the way up the belly rules out Western Red-footed Falcon. Females and juveniles lack the buff underwing coverts of Red-footed Falcon.
Diet
This bird's diet mainly consists of insects, such as termites.
Taxonomy
It was long considered a subspecies or mere morph of the Red-footed Falcon, but it is nowadays considered well distinct. Nonetheless, it is the Red-footed Falcon's closest relative; their relationship to other falcons is more enigmatic. They appear morphologically somewhat intermediate between kestrels and hobbies and DNA sequence data has been unable to further resolve this question, mainly due to lack of comprehensive sampling. They might be closer to the Merlin than to most other living falcons, or more generally related to this species and American falcons such as the American Kestrel and the Aplomado Falcon.
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